The murder of Taja DeJesus, a transgender woman found stabbed on February 1st in the Bayview District, has sparked a national conversation revolving around the hashtag #TransLivesMatter.
The hashtag centers on DeJesus, but also focuses nationally on the deathsof other transgender women of color, Lamia Beard, Ty Unerwood, and Yazmin Payne, who died in Virginia, Texas, and Los Angeles. DeJesus' death also marks her as being the fifth transgender women to be killed in California this year. Many of the tweets associated with the hashtag show solidarity and support for the trans community.
I LOVE ALL YOU TRANS BABIES OUT THERE! MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!#TransLivesMatter
— Judith Dry (@jdry) February 10, 2015If I go to pride this year I'm going to write #TransLivesMatter on me because I feel like trans ppl aren't represented enough at events
— fairy gothmother (@skeletonbrat) February 10, 2015In San Francisco, a demonstration will be held in front of City Hall at 1:30 p.m. by the Trans* Activists for Justice and Accountability Coalition (TAJA), a new group founded in honor of DeJesus. The event's focus is on the violence transgender women of color face, with a die-in planned, as well as a plan to block traffic downtown. The group's demands include ending violence against the trans community, more housing for trans people, and for any new funds for a jail in the city to be funneled into community programs.
DeJesus, who worked at a Trans:Thrive, a nonprofit community center in San Francisco, has been described by the program manager as being “very vocal about issues in the trans community, especially when it came to health and disparity,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The suspected killer, James Hayes, was found dead on February 8th, in an apparent suicide.
If you want to donate or help, the TAJA Coalition has also organized an Indiegogo campaign to help cover the costs of DeJesus’ funeral and is promising all extra funds will go towards helping other trans women of color. So far, the group has raised $1,258 of its $10,000 goal. Over at the Armory, Kink.com has lowered its flag to fly at half-mast in honor of DeJesus.
The demonstration and murders come coupled with a new report released by the SF LGBT Center that found 68% of lesbian, gay, and bi-sexual people have faced with physical violence, while that number jumps to 79% in the trans community. These numbers help show that San Francisco is not necessarily a safe haven for all LGBT people.
Top photo courtesy of Indiegogo.
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